


Guardian Angel

by FlareonFan



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! Series
Genre: (Ish) - Freeform, Fluff, If You Squint - Freeform, M/M, Romance, Season 0, hahaha i'm trash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-06
Updated: 2017-03-06
Packaged: 2018-09-28 15:42:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10129559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlareonFan/pseuds/FlareonFan
Summary: Yami wants to protect Yugi. Yugi doesn't know why he's losing his memories and is scared of the puzzle. These two facts clash.(Season 0 fic)





	

When Yugi needed him most, Yami came to him.

Once upon a time, Ushio severely hurt Yugi. That was the first time Yami helped Yugi. The incident ended in Ushio never daring to cross Yugi’s path again.

Countless times after that, when Yugi or his friends were endangered, Yami took control and got rid of the problem.

The only reason Yami bothered at first was that he enjoyed their misery. The fear in the eyes of his victims. Some trembled. Some begged. Some gritted their teeth and tried to bear it. No matter who it was, though, every victim avoided him afterwards.

Eventually, he found another reason. Yugi’s friends. If Yugi’s friends were hurt, then Yami felt obligated to help them, as Yugi gave Yami a body to inhabit. The least he could do was take out the trash.

Revenge for the sake of Yugi and Yugi’s friends got boring. Suffering was fun, sure, but repetitive. Yami had used every creative punishment he could think of, and all for nothing. Any emotion besides sadistic satisfaction was foreign to Yami.

Until recently.

The realization was sudden for Yami. But every time Yugi was hurt, Yami felt  _ enraged. _ If every incident of Yugi’s friends being hurt felt like a small poke reminding him to avenge the crime, then Yugi being victimized was like being stabbed in the gut with the knife twisting.

From then on, Yami made sure to be extra harsh on those who laid a finger on his precious Yugi. When Imori tried to resign Yugi’s soul to eternal darkness, Yami subjected Imori’s soul to hellish, eternal torment. 

Once Yugi’s soul was back, Yami found a new emotion. He wanted desperately to protect Yugi. 

Protecting Yugi felt good. Whereas torture was an exhilarating show, keeping Yugi safe gave him a warm and fuzzy feeling in his chest. Hell, even seeing Yugi when he looked in the mirror was a good feeling.

Yugi was gentle and kind, but weak and submissive. Yami was cruel and sadistic, but strong.

They made a perfect team, Yami thought.

***

Yugi, although naive, did make the connection between finishing the puzzle and having gaps in his memories. But he never knew what happened in that time. He only knew that his bullies and enemies suddenly started leaving him alone.

It was terrifying, really. It was a whole new threat, but it came from within himself. He could do nothing about it.

This loss of control almost made Yugi wish that the monsters were outside of his head.

That was before Yugi had the puzzle stolen from him.

On one ordinary morning, Yugi was walking to school alone. More like running, though, because he was almost going to be late. At least, he was running until he tripped on a rock. His fall to the ground dishevelled him a bit, but he could keep walking.

However, it only took him seconds to realize that his fall had somehow made him lose the puzzle. He turned his head left and right to find it. Nowhere. How did it disappear? Yugi began searching for it. Even if it made him late, it was worth it not to lose the puzzle.

Meanwhile, inside the puzzle, Yami went from contently sleeping to freezing cold in an instant. 

“What the hell,” he mumbled to no one in particular. Yugi was a bit of a clutz, but he had never lost the puzzle on a morning. Fortunately, though, Yami sensed Yugi’s presence nearby, so he was searching.

The cold of isolation bit him harshly. What was taking Yugi so long? He did take off the puzzle for PE class every day, but at least Yami was awake at those times. 

Outside, Yugi felt his eyes water. It was the absolute worst possible time to lose the puzzle. He would not leave it behind. He absolutely could not do that.

Maybe he could, though, since it did cause him so much trouble. Yugi could just look for it later, right? Without the puzzle, his grandpa would berate him and he would feel ashamed. That would all be temporary.

With the puzzle, he would probably get amnesia again. The thing caused so much trouble.

Should he abandon the puzzle, even if it meant never seeing it again…?

For the time being, Yugi decided to sprint to school. He might not be late if he went as fast as his short legs could take him. Ah, if only they were longer… 

Inside the puzzle, Yami felt Yugi’s presence fade. He tried to reach out and stop Yugi and yell. Alas, he had neither limbs nor a voice. Yugi was the closest thing he had to a body. Without Yugi, Yami was practically nothing.

Yami prepared for a long day. Every moment, he hoped desperately that Yugi would change his mind and decide that he really did need the puzzle. 

_ Why did you leave me here? _

Yami pondered the question throughout the day. Did Yugi not want Yami’s help at all? Did Yugi enjoy being ganged up on? Was he ungrateful? As far as he was aware, Yami hadn’t gotten Yugi into any trouble. 

It was cold and dark in the Millennium Puzzle. The physical pain was only half of his distress, though.

One of the many flaws Yami couldn’t point out in himself was that, if left alone, he started to overthink things.

There was no way Yugi still wanted to be with him. In fact, this was probably exactly what Yugi wanted. For Yami’s soul to be plunged into nothingness with no escape and no end. Yami never wanted to hurt Yugi. He only wanted to protect him. He desperately wanted to protect him.

Somewhere along the line, he had gone so wrong. 

Yami felt remorse. Another first for him. For whatever he had done, Yami wanted to hug Yugi and say he was sorry. If it meant that he could be with Yugi again, Yami would be willing to beg on his knees, if he had any.

How ironic that a sadist like himself would become such a masochist. Any acknowledgement from Yugi would be enough.

Yami’s racing thoughts never stopped. His mind was doomed to a fate of wallowing in regrets and what ifs.

***

Yugi was sitting in class, listening to meaningless lectures about math. No matter how hard he tried, Yugi couldn’t not think about the puzzle he had left behind.

Every second the clock ticked was another second closer to freedom. More importantly, a second closer until Yugi got to go search for the puzzle again. 

Never before had he felt such longing for a physical object. Yugi didn’t know why, but in his heart, he had come to the realization that he couldn’t leave the puzzle behind. It almost felt like an injustice to the puzzle. But the puzzle wasn’t conscious or individual. It was just a treasure.

The moment the bell rang, Yugi threw open the door to his classroom and sprinted down the halls and down the stairs and out of the door and through the parking lot as fast as he could. He didn’t have a second to lose. If anyone else got their hands on the puzzle, it was game over.

After all, he didn’t have the security the puzzle provided to him. He had no defense. Being helpless for the first time in weeks was scary. 

Once Yugi found where he had tripped, he frantically searched on his hands and knees in the bushes for a golden object. Yugi needed it. The instinct to find it took over.

Without realizing what he was doing, Yugi reached his left hand out and grasped something. He gasped. The puzzle. It was there and in his hands. For some reason, its surface felt like ice. But he didn’t care. The puzzle was back in his possession.

_ Yugi! _ A voice called. Yugi paused and put his hand on the puzzle. What was this…?

_...Yeah? _ He thought in response.

_ Yugi, I’m so sorry for whatever I did to make you leave me, please forgive me- _

_ What on earth? Why is the puzzle talking to me? _

_ Oh… I’m sorry. I should probably introduce myself. I’m the spirit of this puzzle. _

Yugi took a moment to let it sink in. A moment wasn’t nearly enough, but he had more questions.  _ Are you what has been beating up the bullies? _

A moment’s hesitance. Then,  _ yes. _

Yugi didn’t know what to say. All at once, so many questions were answered, but many more created.  _ I have a lot of questions for you, but for now, I guess I should thank you. I was scared of you, but now I understand. You’ve been protecting me all this time, haven’t you? _

The puzzle felt warmer. Yugi hadn’t noticed it at first, but the cold was slowly becoming radiant heat. 

_ Yes, I have been. Again, I apologize for scaring you. It wasn’t my intention at all. _

Yugi smiled.  _ You hardly scared me. You were just like a guardian angel I didn’t know existed. Thank you, mou hitori no boku. _

The spirit chuckled at the nickname.  _ You’re welcome, aibou. _

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> I dunno... maybe I'll write a sequel later on.


End file.
